


Sleepwalking, a verb

by WritesMinelli



Series: Hexas Hold 'E̶m̶ Me [3]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Domestic Fluff, Family Dynamics, Good Parent Eda Clawthorne, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sleepwalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29597655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritesMinelli/pseuds/WritesMinelli
Summary: Sleepwalking/ˈslēpˌwôk/ingThe act of getting up and walking around while asleep.Often occurs in long-term situations as a result of trauma.Oh.Luz thought to herself, experiencing an unnatural heartbeat against her puffed rib cage,It's this dream again.
Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda
Series: Hexas Hold 'E̶m̶ Me [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064018
Comments: 22
Kudos: 95





	Sleepwalking, a verb

There was nothing but a thin blankness. A dark that somehow seemed too light, accompanied by the ethereal feeling of weightlessness shifting between sheer veils of reality.

Nevertheless, the untainted peace of it all was surprisingly nauseating.

_Oh,_

Luz thought to herself, experiencing an unnatural heartbeat against her puffed rib cage,

_It's this dream again_.

She feels nothing and everything at the same time. Her feet don't touch the ground yet she feels chained to the planet's core. Her lean body felt light enough to float, but her limbs are all too heavy to move. So she lays there against the pressure of the open air, willing herself to breathe in a way that is more familiar. Her mind runs wild, filling her head with thoughts that onslaught feelings the teenager can't understand. It's overwhelmingly stimulating, and she shuts down in turn. 

Luz finds the sensation of a hyperfocused yet absent mind mildly humorous, in an unappealing kind of way.

If she focuses hard enough, she can stretch herself towards any place in the world. Which was fun the first few times she dreamt it, Luz supposes, but now her thoughts jump around and send her spiraling through a slideshow of emotional scenery. 

_One._

_One, two, one._

_One, two, three, two, one._

_One, two, three, four, three, two, one._

_One, two, three, four, five, four, three, two, one._

Counting out and backwards, Luz attempts to still her consciousness- but her shallow coping mechanisms fail her.

Just like they always have.

Just like they always will.

Feeling a deep tug on her body, like someone was pulling a string wound around her heart. Screwing her eyes shut, Luz can feel her stomach drop as her body becomes weighted again.

She knows where she is. Even with her eyes closed, she knows where the dream has taken her. She can feel it in the humid air, sticking to the back of her neck like a fist around her throat. She can hear it in the crunch of the dark rocks against her shoes. She can taste it in the blood pressed on the inside of her cheek. 

The stabbing wind against her tan face forced brown eyes open, confirming what she already knew.

The Emperor's Castle. 

She's on the bridge. 

_Scratch_

There's the sound of Eda's monstrous claws sinking into the gravel.

_Scratch_

She can feel her mind catching up to her body as tries to free herself from the bubble.

_Scratch_

The air smells of salt and tastes like rust. Like blood.

_Scratch_

The little breakfast she had that morning makes a reappearance in her mouth as Luz feels her feet slide out from under her.

_Scratch_

She sees herself free fall near the spires, as if she is an omnipotent onlooker of the situation instead of the victim.

_Scratch_

She can barely see Eda in the nightfall of the overcast day, but she knows that shadow belongs to her.

_Scratch_

Luz registers vaguely that someone is speaking to her, but all she can hear are car alarms. It feels red.

_Scratch_

There's too much. Too much happening. Too much feeling. She knows she should move, pounce, do anything. 

_Scratch_

Yet she can't move. All she can do is watch Owlbert struggle against black coated nails and wish she could go _home_ -

There's a stirring sensation against her core, and Luz is suddenly standing on the porch of her house. Soft denim shorts hit the dirt as the girl collapses against the door of a place that used to be so familiar. The same hallways that seemed so restricting for years are now so far and inviting. How many times had she walked by the painted walls and framed pictures of herself growing up that lined the living room walls without a second thought? How many times had she hugged her mother, not truly appreciating the guarantee that she would still be there in the morning? How much had she taken for granted?

Luz pressed her head deeper into the wood before running her fingers over the small indents of where the door had been repainted after she had taken a few crayons to it.

_Did you ever think you were going to miss this?_

She blinks and it's gone. The next area comes up slowly, forgoing the queasy spinning feeling that usually accompanies the dream's change of scenery.

It's a calm dark until a single light spell makes it way up to the ceiling. For a moment, Luz is confused before her eyes adjust to the silhouettes in front of her- illuminating the edge of a nest. 

She was in Eda's room.

This one was new.

* * *

There was a quick plunging feeling before Luz woke up, gasping harshly as the tingling sensation subsided down her fingertips. Her heartbeat barely had time to calm down before the girl heard a small scuffling sound emitting from the left of her. 

Whipping around immediately, Luz idly wondered if she had been standing this whole time. She didn't have time to think about the fact that she had been on her feet when she woke up, because now she was acutely aware that she wasn't in her makeshift bedroom. 

Hearing the muffled sound of movement again, Luz made her way further into the room. Noticing a pair of discarded heels, it dawned on the brunette that she had walked all the way down the hall to Eda's room, all the while completely asleep. Luz let out a humorless chuckle at the absurdity of the entire situation. 

Sleepy daze filling her mind with clouds and making her forget to be embarrassed, Luz's socked feet slowly tip-toed to the edge of the large nest that sat as a centerpiece to the messy room. Peering over the edge, the young girl breathed out a sigh of relief as she caught the content expression plastered on her mentor's sleeping face. A small churning made its way into her chest, twisting itself around her heart at the sight of the dark circles under Eda's eyes- no doubt a result of the previous few weeks' events. Still, it was relieving to know the witch was able to sleep so soundly and peacefully after everything. 

Luz couldn't recall how long she had stayed there, watching the older woman breathe. She let the gentle sight of Eda's chest rising and falling calm her nerves and banish the worst case scenarios from her mind. Silently, the witchling sank to her knees beside the bed of random objects, placing her elbows on the nest's edge and her head in her scarred hands. Luz hummed softly, the peace of the moment wrapping around her like a warm blanket. 

Luz's dark eyes close for a moment, feeling the tension seep out of her body while she sinks deeper into the embrace of her own cold hands. She thinks she might fall asleep before her descent into unconsciousness is interrupted by a small shuffle and soft snore. Biting her lip to keep from giggling at the sound, the witchling lifts her head up slowly and peers back over at Eda. The older woman had turned onto her back in her sleep, wild hair falling onto her face in long strands. With an irate instinctively, Luz leaned forwards to brush it back. Grunting, she stuck her tongue out in a pout when she realized she couldn't reach unless she stood up. 

Getting to her feet gracelessly, the teenager bent at the waist as she loomed over Eda, catching the lock of hair on the edge of her tan index finger and moving to push it back.

"Oops-"

Catching her foot on an old hexmix bag, Luz succeeded in completely losing her balance and toppling over the edge of the nest. Catching herself with one extended arm as silently as possible, Luz hovered over Eda's chest, waiting with bated breath to see if she had woken the woman. Eda's deep breathing pattern never stopped, however, and the witchling sighed with relief, bringing her arm around and sinking to the side of Eda, making sure not to touch her. 

Luz celebrated escaping the ordeal with a quick punch in the air. Once she got out from the nest and back in her own room, Eda would be none the wiser of the little sleepwalking incident. 

And Luz would be able to escape the embarrassment entirely.

Or at least that's what she had thought.

Hearing a shuffling beside her, the brunette tensed up, willing the world for the owl lady to go back to sleep. Which came true, but unfortunately came with the conditions of Eda groggily throwing her arm over Luz's shoulder and pulling the girl towards herself in her sleep.

Feeling her cheeks flush, Luz screamed internally at her bad luck. The girl played every scenario of the next morning over and over in her head. From Eda not minding the company, to her being upset, to her laughing at the childishness of it all. 

_One._

_One, two, one._

_One, two, three, two, one._

_One, two, three, four, three, two, one._

_One, two, three, four, five, four, three, two, one._

Letting out a long breath, Luz let the tension slowly release from her fingertips inward to her core. Letting her mind blank from the overthinking, she instead focused on the warmth encircling her chest and how the scent of cinnamon and cheap fabric softener that emanated from her mentor lulled the human girl in a way that was almost nostalgic. Feeling bold, Luz gingerly skid forward, pressing her cheek into Eda's chest and basking in the woman's heartbeat, that was much different from her own. 

The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the feeling of unconditional safety. 

Luz woke up a few hours later, as the rising dawn painted orange and pink hues across the walls from the stained glass. Peering up, she was grateful to see that Eda was still asleep. Smiling softly, she almost groaned in complaint as she untangled herself from the warmth of her body heat before quickly tiptoeing down the hallway and back to her own room.

* * *

The next night, the teenager found herself staring at the debris-ridden floors as she awoke standing in the bedroom that didn't belong to herself once again. Feeling a large amount more intrepid than the night before, Luz made quick work crossing the room to the nest and hushedly crawling in next to the still woman already there. Moving slow and deliberately, Luz positioned herself to lay sideways on her shoulder, facing Eda's relaxed face. Reaching her right hand out, the girl's touch was barely feather-light as she traced the sunken half circles under Eda's eyes. 

They seemed to be fading.

She smiled at the thought of having her mentor's rosy complexion and full cheeks back. 

She didn't mean to think about it. She didn't mean to remember the single night at the castle that had taken so much from them. But her train of thought had gotten there before she could stop it.

Luz curled in on herself, her body feeling as though someone had just dumped ice cold water into her veins. Shivering, the memories came back in a flashback that felt like it lasted hours, despite knowing it was only minutes. The girl made a grab for a fistful of her own hair, pulling down in a way that shoved her chin to her chest. 

There was a sound of movement, and Luz became aware that Eda had unconsciously shifted closer. 

Eda, who had always been there. Who had always helped her come down from an episode. Who had saved her life. Who had taken her in. 

Its funny almost, how even asleep she was the one that could offer Luz the comfort she needed. 

Feeling the emotional outburst take a toll on her energy, she closed the gap between the blankets, pressing her face into the crook of Eda's shoulder.

"I love you."

Luz breathed the words into the ratty sweater before allowing her eyes to slide closed. 

Once again, when the morning came, the teenager was gone before Eda could wake up.

* * *

It continued this way for over a week, until the night of a storm. 

There's something about rain that just… drains a person. The darker skies, the sound of the pitter patter, the feeling of being safe and warm inside. 

Lilith had used her little magic left to create a shield against the rain, protecting the house and its inhabitants before promptly excusing herself to bed- feeling the overexertion make its way into her body. Eda called out to her to eat first, practically shoving a spoon of whatever dinner was made of down her sister's throat before letting her turn in. 

Luz was feeling the weight of the rain as well. She leaned forward slightly before jerking back up, having been nodding off while holding her spoon. Eda chuckled at the sight, taking both of their plates and setting them aside as leftovers to look forward to in the morning. The older woman rolled up the sleeves of her sweater, bending over to crack her back with an audible sigh. 

"You ready for bed, kiddo?" Eda called, crossing the living room towards the stairs. 

Luz only nodded groggily in response, following a few feet behind until they climbed up into the hallway. 

"Well… goodnight then." The younger spoke, barely lifting her feet off the floor as she trudged towards her bedroom. Eda quirked an eyebrow up, a tired smile plastered across her face.

"Isn't this getting old?"

Luz stopped in her tracks at the question that filled the air around them with an underlying teasing atmosphere. Fully awake now, the girl turned fully to face her mentor.

"... What do you mean?" 

"You know, the whole thing that you do where you wait for me to fall asleep and then become a personal teddy bear for a few hours."

Luz blushed, there wasn't anything that had given away that she had been caught until this moment. Rationalizing that lying would be useless, she just accepted the accusation.

"You know about that?" 

Eda laughed, a genuine, kind, laugh that ended in a fit of snorting.

"I've known about it from the start! You're not very subtle, you know? Almost elbowed my good eye out that first night. Now come on." 

Eda called out, opening the door to her room and motioning the girl inside. Luz couldn't wipe the grin off her face for anything, she didn't even care how much of a dork she looked like. She was just so _happy_. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. Skipping across the room, the girl practically jumped into the nest, grabbing the nearest blanket and throwing it over her shoulders. Eda beamed with a soft amusement at her antics, climbing in and settling herself down before opening her arms. 

Luz wasted no time in falling into them, squeezing Eda in a hug too tight for her to have done previously. The older woman chuckled into the short, brown hair before wrapping one arm around her witchling's back, using the other to run her fingers through the girl's hair. 

Luz pressed her face into the space in Eda's chest that had become so familiar to her, letting her eyes slip closed in a way that they had done many times before. Drifting in the space between sleep and wakefulness, she could feel Eda's chest vibrate as the witch spoke out.

"Luz?" She barely whispered, never moving her hand from the girl's head. Luz simply hummed in response, feeling unconsciousness creeping into the back of her eyelids.

"I love you, too." 

It was quiet for a moment as Luz processed the soft declaration. It was strange, how as the warmth crawled its way from her chest out to her fingertips, the only feeling the girl could name was the utter sense of being grateful.

"...Thank you."

And she meant it.

It was the first dreamless sleep Luz had in what felt like months. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi besties I wrote this instead of sleeping please comment or I will cry in the bathtub. Also follow my insta and Tumblr so I can send you pictures of my cat @liesminelli


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